Eatright Liverpool: Healthier Take Away Food

Eatright Liverpool is a joint initiative between Liverpool Primary Care Trust, Liverpool City Council, and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), with the aim of bringing in healthier menus. Eight Chinese takeaways, eight Indian restaurants and four other fast-food premises have agreed to participate in the scheme. Nutritionists from LJMU, led by food science lecturer Dr Leo Stevenson, will devise new formulations of popular products for fast-food businesses across the city. 

Takeaway food is a popular meal choice and has become established as a regular part of the diet for Liverpool residents. Unfortunately, takeaway foods are often found to contain high levels of saturated fat, salt and calories, all of which can affect obesity, heart diseases and cancer. Therefore by reducing the salt, fat and calorific content of our meals, wherever possible, we could have a dramatic effect on the health of the people of Liverpool.

For example, a Chinese dish of beef and green peppers in blackbean sauce contained 27.6g of salt – almost five times an adult's recommended daily intake. A pepperoni pizza had 3,320 calories, far in excess of the advised daily maximum of 1,940 and 2,550 1,940 for women and 2,550 for men.

The recommended daily intake of salt is 6g - it is staggering to think that eating just one dish could mean consuming as much as 28g of salt (over four times the recommended daily amount in one meal).

The message is not, “Don't eat takeaway food”, but we do want to make dishes more nutritious because salt and saturated fats in particular are closely associated with problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

For more information contact annette.james@liverpoolpct.nhs.uk or rachel.long@liverpool.gov.uk

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